Operations Manager

As part of the UQ community, you will have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world.

Everyone here has a role to play. As a member of our professional staff cohort, you will be actively involved in working towards our vision of a better world. By supporting the academic endeavour across teaching, research, and the student life, you will have the opportunity to contribute to activities that have a lasting impact on our community.

Join a community where excellence is at the core of our culture, contributions are valued and a range of benefits and rewards are available, such as:

• 26 weeks paid parental leave or 14 weeks paid primary caregiver leave

• 17% superannuation contributions

• 17.5% annual leave loading

• Access to flexible working arrangements including hybrid working options, flexible start/finish times, purchased leave, and a condensed fortnight

• Health and wellness discounts – fitness passport access, free yearly flu vaccinations, discounted health insurance, and access to our Employee Assistance Program for staff and their immediate family

• On campus childcare options

• Cheap parking (from just $5.75 a day)

• Salary packaging options

We are seeking an organized, enthusiastic and dedicated Operational Manager to support the effective and efficient operation of the APPF-UQ node. You will be reporting to Prof Scott Chapman at the UQ School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, who is the Scientific Director of the APPF-UQ node, and will supervise staff appointed within the School and/or the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Infrastructure) The DVC(RI) has established a Collaborative Research Platforms for Plant Growth (CRP-PG) to support UQ investment in infrastructure for plant and crop scientists. The Manager will also liaise with the CRP-PG team (Dr Erik van Oosterom and Sarah Armstrong) to oversee facilities and to deliver of milestones and outcomes of APPF including via engagement in APPF Working Groups. The role is responsible for engagement of internal and external clients of the APPF-UQ who will access these unique facilities. The role will also oversee the agronomy leadership for the field facility and support a range of administrative processes for the APPF-UQ node including procurement and maintenance of the APPF-UQ facilities and financial and milestone reporting and planning to/with APPF. The position will be based at St Lucia in the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability.

Key responsibilities will include: 

• Support the Scientific Director and the APPF-UQ team by providing overall day-to-day operational management, and oversee the administration and achievement of the deliverables within timeframes defined by APPF;

• In consultation with the Director and CRP-PG, lead, develop and establish operational processes including annual operating plans and other procedures as required to ensure efficient operation, success and sustainability of APPF-UQ;

• Provide oversight and leadership of development of growth and measurement protocols in the field and glasshouse operations (mobile platforms, field greenhouse, glasshouse phenotyping).

• Understand and manage procurement processes, development of research contracts and budgetary allocations and commitments;

• Provide financial reports monthly to APPF and reporting against milestones. Oversee and manage student and staff recruitment and assist in developing solutions to handle issues that arise;

• Provide operational supervision of other officers (nominally 3 to 6 positions) within APPF-UQ;

• Operate as a key liaison between APPF-UQ and the facility providers (UAV, ground and fixed phenotyping systems including hardware and software systems), internal UQ partners including the Office of the Director of Gatton Campus, UQ Drones platform, facility research clients and industry stakeholders to facilitate strong and long-term sustainable relationships;

• Assist the Director to develop and leverage strong working relationships and networks within UQ, and with industry partners and external stakeholders.

• Strategic oversight of events, official functions, roadshows, public profiling activities and regular proactive communication for the benefit of the stakeholders.

• Manage and review compliance across all activities to ensure adherence to external and internal process and procedure, work practices and guidelines, taking corrective action where necessary;

• In collaboration with the APPF central teams, oversee the data management of APPF-UQ and the management and compliance with IP and data-sharing arrangements and reporting of APPF.

This is a full-time (100%), fixed-term position until end of June 2027.

At HEW level 8, the full-time equivalent base salary will be in the range $108,975.08 - $122,176.31, plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%. The total FTE package will be up to $127,500.84 - $142,946.29 annually.  As these roles are covered by an Enterprise Agreement, you will also receive regular remuneration increases in line with the Enterprise Agreement.

• Graduate qualifications or progress towards graduate qualifications and extensive relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and/or education and training, ideally in an agricultural research context.

• At least 5 years’ experience in facility and project management in a research environment with demonstrated leadership and management capability within complex operations including budget planning, risk management and compliance.

• Experience in oversight of agronomy of field research activities and familiarity with the uncertainties and issues in scheduling and managing such research

• Proficiency in the use of systems; particularly using a variety of enquiry, accounting, spreadsheet, database, word processing, email and internet software.

• High-level organisational skills including the ability to operate independently within established frameworks and guidelines while prioritising competing work demands and meeting deadlines, demonstrating the ability to prioritise and manage multiple project objectives concurrently.

• High level of work ethic and integrity commensurate with the importance of this position.

• Demonstrated high level interpersonal, written and oral communication skills and emotional intelligence to minimise disruption to the momentum of the project objectives and to build relationships and work collaboratively as part of a team.

Desirables:

• Experience working in a University environment including using relevant administrative tools and possessing a knowledge of university policies and procedures.

• An understanding and/or experience of Government funding schemes, especially those with industry linkages and cross-institutional collaborations.

• Experience and qualifications to fly UAV/drones up to 25 kg in research field environments.

In addition, the following mandatory requirements apply:

• Work Rights: You must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment. 

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Professor Scott Chapman at *************@uq.edu.au. For application queries, please contact ******@uq.edu.au stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line. 
 

Want to Apply? 

All applicants must upload the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Cover letter addressing the ‘About You’ section  

• Resume 

At UQ we know that our greatest strengths come from our diverse mix of colleagues, this is reflected in our ongoing commitment to creating an environment focused on equity, diversity and inclusion.  We ensure that we are always attracting, retaining and promoting colleagues who are representative of the diversity in the broader community, whether that be gender identity, LGBTQIA+, cultural and/or linguistic, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, or people with a disability. Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to ******@uq.edu.au.

If you are a current employee (including casual staff and HDR scholars) or hold an unpaid/affiliate appointment, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.

Applications close SundMay 19th 2024 at 11.00pm AEST (Job Reference Number - R-38146). Interviews have been tentatively scheduled for May 29th 2024.

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